Roll-up shutter

ABSTRACT

A roll-up shutter including a rotary drum ( 3 ) mounted horizontally at the upper end of a frame ( 2 ) above a window; a slat assembly ( 4 ) including a plurality of interconnected pivotal slats ( 40 ) rollable on the drum ( 3 ) to a rolled-up condition above the window; and a tilting assembly ( 5 ) for selectively tilting the slats ( 40 ) to open or closed positions when the slat assembly ( 4 ) at least partially covers the window.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to shutters for windows or doors, andparticularly to the roll-up type shutter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A typical roll-up type shutter includes a slat assembly of a pluralityof slats rollable on a rotary drum or shaft mounted horizontally at theupper end of the shutter. The slat assembly is thus rollable on the drumto a rolled-up non-operative condition above the window, or to arolled-down operative condition fully or partially covering the window.Such shutters generally do not include a tilting assembly for tiltingthe slats to control the light as desired when the shutter is in therolled-down condition.

Roll-up shutters of special construction are know which do permit theslats to be tilted when the slat assembly is in its down, operativeposition. However, such shutters are extremely expensive, costing manytimes the cost of the simple roll-up type shutter which does not permittilting the slats. For example, a typical cost of the non-tilting typeroll-up shutter is in the order of $100 per meter; whereas the cost ofthe tilting-type shutter is in the order of $2000-$4000 per meter.Moreover, the tilting-type shutters now commercially available do notpermit the slats to be tilted to a fully-open or partially-open positionwhen the slat assembly is only partially rolled-down such that only thelower part of the slat assembly is in operative position with respect tothe window.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a roll-up shutterhaving advantages in the above respects.

According to a broad aspect of the present of the present invention,there is provided a roll-up shutter, comprising: a frame defining awindow; a rotary drum mounted horizontally at the upper end of the frameabove the window; a slat assembly including a plurality ofinterconnected pivotal slats; the slat assembly being rollable on thedrum from a rolled-up condition above the window to a rolled-downcondition covering the window; and a tilting assembly for selectivelytilting the slats to an open, partially-closed and fully-closed positionwhen the slat assembly covers at least a part of the window opening.

According to further features in the preferred embodiments of theinvention described below, the tilting assembly includes a commonactuator extending the length of the window and terminating below thedrum, the common actuator being coupled only to the slats aligned withthe window in the fully rolled-down condition or partially rolled-downcondition of the slat assembly for selectively tilting the coupled slatsto an open, partially closed, or filly closed position.

According to one described preferred embodiment, the tilting assemblyincludes: a channel member extending vertically at one side of theframe, the channel member being open at its upper end and along one sidefor receiving a pin at the end of each of the slats; and an actuatormechanism for moving the channel member and the slat pins receivedtherein to pivot the slats to their open, partially-closed, andfully-closed positions; the upper end of the channel member beinglocated below the rotatable drum such that when rolling-up the slatassembly onto the drum, the slat end pins leave the channel memberthereby permitting the slats to pivot to their fully-closed positions.

According to a second described preferred embodiment, the tiltingmechanism further includes a locking mechanism selectively movable to alocking position for locking the tilting mechanism against tilting theslats, or to a releasing position for releasing the tilting mechanismfor tilting the slats.

According to further features in the second described embodiment, thecommon actuator includes a vertical bar extending vertically at one sideof the frame and coupled to the slats aligned with the window; and thetilting assembly further includes a coupling mechanism for each slatcoupling the slat to the vertical bar, and an actuator mechanism formoving the bar vertically in one direction to pivot the coupled slatstowards their open positions, and in the opposite direction to pivot thecoupled slats towards their fully-closed positions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is aprovided a roll-up shutter, comprising a frame defining a window; arotary drum mounted horizontally at the upper end of the frame abovesaid window, and a slat assembly including a plurality of interconnectedpivotal slats, said slat assembly being rollable on the drum from arolled-up condition above said window to a rolled-down conditioncovering said window; each of said plurality of slats being pivotallymounted eccentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the slat

In the described preferred embodiment, the pivotal end of each slat ispartially covered by the non-pivotal end of the next adjacent slat inthe rolled-up condition of the slat assembly.

As will be described more particularly below, a roll-up shutterconstructed in accordance with the foregoing features may not only berolled-up to its non-operative position and rolled-down to its operativeposition, but when the shutter is in its rolled-down operative positionthe slats may be tilted as desired, in order to control the lightpassing through the shutter. In addition, such a shutter does notrequire that the slats be in their closed positions if the slat assemblyis to be wound on the drum since the slats are automatically moved totheir closed positions when the slat assembly is being wound onto thedrum. Moreover, such a shutter permits the slat assembly to be partiallyrolled up and still have the slats aligned with the window to be fullyopen or partially open to control the light passing through the window.Finally, such a shutter can be constructed with relatively simple partswhich can be produced and assembled in volume and at low cost,comparable to the non-tilting type roll-up shutter in present use.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates one form of roll-up shutter constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating many of thecomponents of the shutter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an assembly view particularly illustrating the tiltingmechanism in the shutter of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 diagramatically illustrates the shutter of FIGS. 1-3 in apartially operative position of the slat assembly with the slats intheir closed (vertical) positions;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 4 but showing the operativeslats in their open (horizontal) positions;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the tilting mechanism of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6a is a sectional view along line A—A of FIG. 6b;

FIG. 6b is a sectional view along line B—B of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6c is a sectional view along line C—C of FIG. 6a.

FIG. 7 illustrates another form of roll-up shutter constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a part of the tilting assembly in the releasedcondition permitting tilting of the individual slats;

FIG. 9 illustrates a part of the tilting assembly in the lockingcondition preventing tilting of the slats, and also an electricalcircuit controlled by the tilting assembly to prevent roll-up orroll-down of the slats when in its locked condition;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view more particularly illustrating the tiltingassembly of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view illustrating the tilting assembly of FIGS. 8and 9 in the locked condition of the assembly;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the pivotal mounting of eachslat and a portion of the tilting assembly for tilting the slat;

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the portion of thepivotal mounting of the slat acted upon by the tilting assembly;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating the pivotal mounting of theopposite end of each slat;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view illustrating a slat in its closedposition before the shutter assembly is raised or lowered; and

FIG. 16 illustrates a slat in its open condition before the shutterassembly is raised or lowered.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The shutters illustrated in the drawings are of the roll-up type to beplaced over a window (or door) opening, in which the slat assembly isnormally in an operative position covering the window opening, but maybe fully or partially rolled-up to a non-operative position on a drum orshaft at the upper end of the shutter. As will be described moreparticularly below, a main advantage of the shutters illustrated in thedrawings is that they permit the slats to be tilted as desired tocontrol the light, not only when the slats are in their fully-downposition, but also when they are in their partially-down position.

The Shutter of FIGS. 1-6

With reference first to FIG. 1, the illustrated shutter includes aframe, generally designated 2, having a drum or shaft 3 mountedhorizontally at the upper end of the frame, and a slat assembly,generally designated 4, rollable on drum 3 to a fully or partiallyoperative position fully or partially covering the window (or door)opening framed by the shutter, or to a non-operative position wound onthe drum 3. The illustrated shutter further includes a tilting assembly,generally designated 5, for tilting the slat of the slats assembly 4 totheir open, partially-closed, or fully-closed positions, when the slatassembly 4 is in its fully or partially operative position with respectto the window opening.

Frame 2 is applied in any suitable manner to overlie the window (ordoor) opening of the building structure with which the shutter is to beused, and includes a rectangular window opening 21 to be aligned withthe building structure window (or door) opening. Window opening 21 ofthe shutter is defined by two vertical sections 22, 23 at the oppositesides of the shutter frame, a bottom section 24 at the bottom of theframe, and an upper section 25 at the upper end of the frame and servingto house rotary drum 3.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotary drum 3 is mounted ona horizontal shaft 31. Preferably, the outer surface of drum 3 is ofhexagonal configuration, as shown at 32, but may be of cylindrical orother suitable configuration to receive the slat assembly 4 when rolledonto the drum.

The construction of slat assembly 4 is best seen in FIG. 2. It includesa plurality of hollow plastic slats 40 each closed at its opposite endsby a pair of end elements 41 integrally formed with bosses 42 forreceiving the opposite ends of the slats. The slats 40 areinterconnected by curved coupling links 43, 44 into a rollable assemblyfor rolling on drum 3. Each coupling link 43, 44 is formed with anopening 43 a, 44 a, at its opposite ends, with the openings of adjacentlinks 43 in alignment and pivotally coupled to each other by couplingmembers 45, 46, one at each end of each slat 40. Coupling member 45 isformed with a pin 45 a at one end received within aligned openings 43 aof coupling links 43; and similarly coupling member 46 is formed with apin 46 a received within aligned openings 44 a at the opposite ends ofthe slats assembly. The two pins 45 a, 46 a, thus serve as a horizontalaxis about which the slat may be pivoted: to a horizontal position,which is the fully open position of the slat: to a vertical position,which is the fully closed position of the slat; or to a partiallyclosed, intermediate position.

Pins 45 a in the coupling members 45 at one end of the slat assembly 4include tongues 45 b which pass through slots 43 b in the coupling links43 and are received in the respective end of the slat 40 to preventrotation of the slat 40 with respect to the coupling member 45. Theopposite end of coupling member 45 is formed with a further pin 45 cwhich cooperates with the tilting mechanism 5 as will be described moreparticularly below, to tilt the slats 40 to their open, partially-closedor fully closed positions.

Coupling members 46 are similarly constructed with pins 46 a providedwith tongues 46 b received within slots 44 b of the coupling links 44,and are received within the opposite end of the respective slat 40 suchthat each pin 46 a is non-pivotally to its respective slat. Couplingmember 46, however, does not include a pin corresponding to pin 45 c incoupling member 45, but merely an enlarged head 46 c to facilitateinsertion or removal of the coupling member.

As noted above, the pins 45 a, 46 a, serve as the pivot axis for eachslat 40. As can be seen particularly in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, this pivotaxis is eccentric with respect to the longitudinal axis of the slat. Inaddition, as shown particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pivotal side ofeach slat is partially covered by the adjacent non-pivotal side of thenext adjacent slat in the roll-up condition of the slat assembly. Thesefeatures produce a very compact nesting arrangement for the slats whenwound on the drum 3, and thereby decrease the size of the box needed toaccommodate the rolled-up slat assembly.

The tilting mechanism, generally designated 5, includes a commonactuator which cooperates with pins 45 c at one end of the slat assembly4 for tilting the stats 40 to their various positions. In the shutter ofFIGS. 1-6, this common actuator is in the form of a channel member 50(best seen in FIG. 2) extending vertically at one side of the shutterframe 2 the length of the window opening 21, and terminating below thedrum 3 at the upper end of the shutter. Channel member 50 is open at itsupper end and also at the side facing pins 45 c of coupling members 45so as to receive those pins at the ends of the slats 40. As will bedescribed more particularly below, channel member 50 is movablerearwardly of frame to pivot the slats 40 to their open positions orforwardly of the frame to pivot the slats to their partially-closed orclosed positions.

The above movement of channel member 50 is effected by an actuator ismechanism that includes a fingerpiece 51 extending through a slot 52 atthe lower end of side 22 of frame 2. Fingerpiece 51 is one arm of a bellcrank lever 53 pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion by anopening 53 a received within a boss 53 b in side 22 of the frame 2. Theopposite end of bell crank lever 53 includes an arm 54 formed with anopening 54 a pivotally coupled by a pin 54 c (FIG. 6) to channel member50.

Channel member 50 is formed with two parallel sides 50 a, 50 b joined bya bridge 50 c and open at the opposite side to receive the pins 45 c ofthe coupling members 45. The bridging side 50 c is coupled to arm 54 ofthe crank lever 53 by pins 54 c, as shown particularly in FIG. 6.

It will thus be seen that pressing fingerpiece 51 downwardly rotates thecrank lever 53 clockwise (FIG. 2) to raise arm 54 of the bell cranklever, and thereby to move coupling member 50 in the forward direction,i.e. towards the fingerpiece 51 projecting from the front side of theshutter frame 2; whereas moving fingerpiece 51 upwardly lowers arm 54 ofbelt crank lever 53 to move channel member 50 rearwardly within theframe.

A pair of parallelogram arms 55, 56 are pivotally mounted betweenchannel member 50 and frame 2, on opposite sides of fingerpiece 51, tomaintain channel member 50 vertical as it is moved to its forward andrearward positions by the fingerpiece. Thus, as shown particularly inFIG. 6b, the two arms 55, 56 are pivotally mounted at one of their endsto channel member 50, and at their opposite ends to frame 2. Whenfingerpiece 51 is in its down position, as shown in FIG. 6b, the channelmember 50 is in its rearward position as shown in full lines in FIG. 6b,and the slats 40 are in their horizontal (open) positions as shown inFIG. 3; and when fingerpiece 51 is moved upwardly, as shown in brokenlines in FIG. 6b, channel member 50 is moved forwardly (towards thefingerpiece side of the frame) by arm 54 of bell crank lever 53, whilethe two parallelogram arms 55, 56 are pivoted to vertical positions tomaintain channel member 50 in a vertical position during its movementforwardly of the frame, as shown in broken lines in FIG. 6b. Pins 45 cprojecting from the ends of slats 40 and received within the channelmember 50 causes the slats to pivot to vertical positions by thisforward movement of the channel member.

The upper end of channel member 50 includes an inclined extension 50 d(FIG. 2) which serves as a funnel-shaped element to guide the slat endpins 45 c into the channel member, irrespective of the tilt position ofthe channel member, when the slat assembly is being rolled-down.

The actuator mechanism for the tilting assembly 5 further includes aforce-releasable retainer device for retaining the fingerpiece 51, thechannel member 50, and the slats 40 coupled thereto, in any selectedposition. As shown particularly in FIG. 6b, this retainer devicecomprises a toothed curved surface 57 fixed to the bell crank lever 53at its pivotal mounting 53 a, and a releasable leaf spring 58 engageablewith the toothed surface. Leaf spring 58 is held at its opposite ends bya pair of L-shaped shoulders 59 a, 59 b fixed to the frame 2, and has anintermediate portion formed with a detent 58 a for releasably receivingthe teeth of the toothed surface 57. Thus, toothed surface 57 is rotatedwith the pivoting of fingerpiece 51 of bell crank lever 53 and isretained in a pivoted position by one of the teeth in surface 57received within detent 58 a of leaf spring 58.

Operation

The operation of the roll-up shutter illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 will beapparent from the above description.

Thus, when the slat assembly 4 is in its operative rolled-down positionwith respect to drum 3, the slats 40 in the slat assembly may be pivotedto any desired position by fingerpiece 51 of the tilting assembly 5 atthe side of frame 2. When fingerpiece 51 is in its downward position,channel member 50 is pivoted by arm 54, at the other end of bell cranklever 53 from fingerpiece 51, to its rearward position within frame 2 asshown in FIG. 3, causing the slats 40 to be pivoted to their horizontal(fully open) positions by pins 45 c projecting from the ends of theslats 40 received within channel member 50. Fingerpiece 51 may be raisedto its uppermost position, shown in broken lines in FIG. 6b, whereuponchannel member 50 is moved forwardly on the frame to the broken-lineposition illustrated in FIG. 6b, and thereby pivots the slats 40 totheir vertical positions by the pins 45 c at the ends of the slats beingreceived within the channel member. Channel member 50 is maintainedvertical during all of its movements by the parallelogram arrangementdefined by the two parallel arms 55, 56 forming two sides of theparallelogram, and pivotal at their opposite ends to the channel member50 and frame 2, forming the third and fourth sides of the parallelogram.

Fingerpiece 51 may thus be pivoted to its downmost position to move theslats 40 to their fully-pen (horizontally) positions, or to theirfully-closed (vertical) positions. Fingerpiece 51, however, may also bemoved to any intermediate position to partially close the slats as maybe desired. The fingerpiece 51, channel member 50, and the slats 40 areall releaseably retained in any desired position by detent 58 a of leafspring 68 receiving one of the teeth of the toothed curved surface 57fixed to fingerpiece 51.

The slat assembly 4 may be rolled-up to a non-operative position on drum3 by rotating the drum via an electrical motor (not shown), or manually,as in a conventional roll-up shutter. However, in contrast to theconventional roll-up shutter, it is not necessary, in the constructionillustrated in the drawings, first to tilt the slats 40 of the slatassembly 4 to their vertical (fully-closed) positions. Thus, as soon aspin 45 c of a slat 40 clears channel member 50, as the slat assembly iswound onto drum 3, the respective slat 40 is no longer retained in itspivoted position, and therefore may pivot to a vertical position by itsown weight as it is wound on the drum. When the slat assembly isrolled-down to an operative position, pins 45 c are guided by tongues 50d of channel member 50 into the channel member, and thereby pivot theslats to the tilt positions as determined by the position of channelmember 50 as set by fingerpiece 51.

It will thus be seen that, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the slat assemblymay be partially wound on the drum, and the unwound part may be tiltedas deserved, to control the light.

The Shutter of FIGS. 7-15

The shutter illustrated in FIGS. 7-15 may also be partially wound on thedrum, and the unwound part may be tilted as desired to control thelight. It has the additional advantage, however, of permitting thetilting mechanism to be locked with the slats in their open,partially-closed or fully-closed positions. The shutter illustrated inFIG. 7 also includes a frame 102 having a drum or shaft 103 mountedhorizontally at its upper end, and a slat assembly, generally designated104, rollable on drum 103 to a fully or partially operative position,fully or partially covering the window (or door) opening framed by theshutter, or to a non-operative position wound on the drum 103. Theillustrated shutter further includes a tilting assembly, generallydesignated 105, for tilting the slats of the slat assembly 4 to theiropen, partially-closed, or fully-closed positions, when the slatassembly is in its fully or partially operative position with respect tothe window opening. As will be described more particularly below,tilting assembly 105 may also be selectively locked to lock the slats intheir tilted positions.

The shutter illustrated in FIG. 7 also includes a common actuatorextending the length of the window and terminating below the drum 103.In this case, the common actuator is in the form a rack bar 110 (FIGS.8-11) formed with a first plurality of teeth 112 extending for thecomplete length of the bar, and a second plurality of teeth 114 (FIG.10) extending only for a short part of the length of the bar. Teeth 114are used for raising and lowering the rack bar 110 whereas teeth 112 arecoupled to all the slats aligned with the window opening so as to tiltthe slats towards their open positions when the rack bar 110 is raised,and towards their fully-closed positions when the rack bar is lowered.

Rack bar 110 is raised and lowered by rotating a rotary knob 120 carriedat the end of a shaft 121 supported between a pair of bearing blocks122, 123 (e.g., FIG. 9) for both rotary movement about rotary axis 124,and also linear movement along the rotary axis. Shaft 121 carries a gear125 meshing with another gear 126 coupled to teeth 114 of rack bar 110,such that rotating knob 120 in one direction, raises the rack bar topivot the slats towards their open positions, and rotating the knob inthe opposite direction lowers the rack bar to pivot the slats towardsclosed positions.

Rotary knob 120 may also be used for locking the slats in a tiltedposition. For this purpose, bearing blocks 122, 123, rotatably mountingshaft 121 of knob 120, are pivotally coupled to one end 131 of a yokemember 130. The opposite end 132 of the yoke member is pivotally coupledto a tab 133 fixed to a locking bar 134 extending for the length of therack bar 110. As will be described more particularly below, moving therotary knob 120 inwardly to the position shown in FIG. 8, moves thelocking bar 134 to a releasing position permitting the slats to betitled by rotating the knob; whereas moving the knob outwardly, to theposition shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, moves the locking bar 134 to a lockingposition locking the slats in their tilted positions.

FIGS. 12-14 more particularly illustrate the tilting mounting of each ofthe slats 140 within the slat assembly 104. Thus, the opposite ends ofeach slat 140 are supported in the slat assembly by links 141, 142 whichrotatably receive pins 143, 144 (FIGS. 13, 14) carried at the oppositeends of each slat. The end of each slat 140 is closed by an end piece145, 146, formed with holes 145 a, 146 a, for receiving threadedfasteners to fix the end pieces to the ends of the slats.

Each end of each slat further includes a disc 147, 148 having an outercurved surface engaged by the outer concave surface of a filler block149, 150 carried by the links 141, 142. The end discs 147, 148 supportthe slats 140 in a rolledcondition on drum 103, (e.g., FIG. 4) and areprovided with axially extending-grooves 147 a, 148 a, to accommodate ascrewdriver or like implement for threading the fasteners into the endpieces 145, 146, at,the ends of the slats 140.

Each slat 140 is further provided with a coupling mechanism coupling theslat to rack bar 110 for tilting the slats to a selected position whenraising or lowering the rack bar by the rotary knob 120. This couplingmechanism includes an actuator disc 160 secured to the slat pin 143 suchthat rotation of the actuator disc also rotates the slat. The couplingmechanism co-operates with rack bar 110 such that, when the slatassembly is rolled onto the upper drum 103, all the slats 140 areautomatically pivoted to their fully-closed positions to permit the slatassembly to be rolled onto the drum; and when the slat assembly isrolled down from the drum, all the slats are automatically pivoted totheir fully open positions.

For this purpose, each actuator disc 160 fixed to a slat 140 is formedwith a sector gear 161 which cooperates with teeth 112 of the rack bar110. Each actuator disc 160 is further formed with a sector shapedcavity 162 in which a pair of pawls 163, 164 are pivotally mounted. Asshown particularly in FIGS. 15 and 16, the two pawls 163, 164, are urgedby a piano spring 165 against walls the 162 a, 162 b of the cavity 162.

In addition, the outer surface of each actuator disc 160 is flattened,as shown at the 166. One of these flattened surfaces is engaged by thepreviously-mentioned locking bar 134 when moved to its locking position,(as shown in FIG. 11 for example), by moving the rotary knob 120outwardly. A locking disc 167 retains pawls 163, 164 within cavity 162of the actuator disc 160. The other end of the slat includes a pair oflocking discs 168, 169 for that end of the slat to its link 142.

Operation

The operation of the shutter illustrated in FIGS. 7-16 will now bedescribed particularly with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.

FIG. 15 illustrates the position of each slat 140 of the portion of theshutter aligned with the window (or door) opening shutter when the slatis in its fully-closed position; and FIG. 16 illustrates the conditionof each slat when in its fully opened position. If the slats 140 arefully closed, rack bar 110 may be raised by rotating knob 120 whichpivots the slats (clockwise, FIG. 15) to a fully opened position, or toany position in between; and if the slats are in their fully openedposition (FIG. 16), the rack bar 110 may be lowered by rotating knob 120in the opposite direction, which pivots the slats to their fully-closedpositions or to any position in between. It will thus be seen byrotating knob 120, all the slats within the window opening may be tiltedto any selected position by either raising or lowering rack bar 110.

If the slats are in the fully closed position shown in FIG. 15, and itis desired to roll-up the slat assembly onto the drum 103, the drum isrotated (manually or by a motor to raise the flat assembly with respectto the window opening. Rack bar 110 engages pawls 163 of all the slatswithin the window opening and pivots them clockwise, which is permittedby spring 165 s. Also, the teeth of sector gear 162 of the actuatordiscs 160 fixed to the respective slats are disengaged from teeth 112 ofrack bar 110. Accordingly, the rack bar 110 does not change the closedconditions of the slats as the slat assembly is rolled-up onto the drum103. On the other hand, when the slats are initially in their closedconditions as illustrated in FIG. 15 and it is desired to lower the slatassembly, it will be seen that pawls 163 are moved by teeth 112 of rackbar 110 counter-clockwise, which thereby also rotates the actuator discs160 and their respective slats 140 to counter-clockwise. This brings theteeth of sector gear 161 of disc 160 into engagement with teeth 112 ofrack bar 110, such that lowering the slat assembly will pivot the slats140 from their closed positions to their open positions as they enterthe window opening and engage rack bar 110. Accordingly, the lowering ofthe shutter by rolling-down the slat assembly from drum 103automatically pivots the slats from their closed positions to theirfully-opened positions.

FIG. 16 illustrates what occurs when the slats 140 are in a fully openedposition. Thus, if the shutter assembly is lowered, pawls 164 of theactuator discs 160 of the slats 140 in the window opening are pivotedcounter-clockwise within cavity 162 of the respective actuator disc, andtherefore do not rotate the respective actuator disc 160 or slat 140. Inaddition, the teeth of the sector gear 162 are also free of the teeth112 of rack bar 110. Accordingly, lowering the shutter does not affectthe open condition of the slats, and the slats in the window openingwill therefore remain open.

On the other hand when the shutter is raised and the slats are open asshown in FIG. 16, pawl 164 of each slot in the window opening is movedinto engagement with shoulder 162 b of cavity 162 of the respectiveactuator disc 160, thereby rotating the disc, and the shutter 140therewith, clockwise. This brings the teeth of sector gear 161 intoengagement with the teeth 112 of rack bar 110, to pivot the actuatordisc 160, and the slat 140 coupled thereto, clockwise to thefully-closed position of the slat. Accordingly, when the shutter isrolled-up onto the drum 103, all the slats which were in an openposition, or partially open position, are automatically pivoted to theirclosed positions by rack bar 110 to enable the slat assembly to be woundonto the drum 103.

Whenever the slat assembly is not fully wound onto the drum 103, so thatat least a portion of the slat assembly is aligned with the windowopening, the slats may not only be tilted to a desired tilted position(open, closed or partially-closed) by rotating knob 120, but may also belocked in the tilted position by pulling the knob 120 outwardly alongits rotary axis 124. This is the condition illustrated in FIG. 11,wherein it will be seen that this outward movement of the rotary knob120 pivots the locking bar 134 into engagement with the outer flatsurfaces of all the actuator discs 160 of the slats 140 within thewindow opening, and thereby locking the slats against any tiltingmovement.

If the drum 103 is rotated by an electrical motor (rather than manually)an electrical interlock should be provided to prevent driving the drum103 in either direction when the rotary knob 120 is moved to itsoutward, locking position. Thus, the circuit to the electrical motordriving the drum 103 should include an interlock switch actuated by anyof the tilt-locking mechanism described above to open the circuit to theelectrical motor when the rotary knob 120 is in its outer, lockingposition.

While the invention has been described with respect to two preferredembodiments, it will be appreciated that these are set forth merely forpurposes of example, and that many further variations may be made. Forexample, the shutter can be designed such that the downward position ofthe fingerpiece in the shutter of FIGS. 1-6 will produce the downwardpositioning of the slats. Also, other arrangements could be provided totilt and lock the slats, e.g., by an electrical motor, or this featuremay be omitted. Further, the slats could be rolled down in their closedcondition, rather than automatically opening them as they are rolleddown. Many other variations, modifications and applications of theinvention will be apparent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A roll-up shutter, comprising: a frame defining awindow; a rotary drum mounted horizontally at the upper end of the frameabove said window; a slat assembly including a plurality ofinterconnected pivotal slats; said slat assembly being rollable on thedrum to a rolled-up condition above said window, to a fully rolled-downcondition fully covering said window, or to a partially rolled-downcondition partially covering said window; and a tilting assembly forselectively tilting said slats to an open position, a partially-closedposition and a fully-closed position when the slat assembly at leastpartially covers said window, wherein said tilting assembly includes acommon actuator extending the length of said window and terminatingbelow said drum, said common actuator being coupled only to the slatsaligned with the window in the fully rolled-down condition or partiallyrolled-down condition of the slat assembly for selectively tilting saidcoupled slats to an open, partially-closed, or fully-closed position. 2.The shutter according to claim 1, wherein: said common actuator includesa channel member extending vertically at one side of said frame, saidchannel member being open at its upper end and along one side forreceiving a pin at the end of each of said slats; and said tiltingassembly further includes an actuator mechanism for moving said channelmember and the slat pins received therein to pivot the slats to theiropen, partially-closed, and fully-closed positions; the upper end of thechannel member being located below said rotatable drum such that whenrolling-up the slat assembly onto the drum, the slat end pins leave saidchannel member thereby permitting the slats to pivot to theirfully-closed positions.
 3. The shutter according to claim 2, whereinsaid actuator mechanism comprises: a fingerpiece pivotally mounted tothe frame and pivotally coupled to said channel member; and a pair ofparallelogram arms located on opposite sides of said pivotal coupling ofthe fingerpiece to said frame and maintaining said channel member in avertical position as it is moved to said open, partially-closed andfully-closed positions.
 4. The shutter according to claim 3, whereinsaid pair of parallelogram arms are pivotally mounted at one end to saidchannel member and are pivotally mounted at their opposite ends to saidframe.
 5. The shutter according to claim 3, wherein said slat assemblycomprises: a coupling link for each slat at said one side of the frame;each coupling link having a first pin at one end fixed to its respectiveslat, and a second pin at its opposite end constituting said slat pinreceived within said channel member.
 6. The shutter according to claim3, wherein said actuator mechanism comprises: a bell crank leverpivotally mounted to said frame; a first arm on one side of said pivotalmounting carrying said fingerpiece; and a second arm on the other sideof said pivotal mounting pivotally coupled to the channel member.
 7. Theshutter according to claim 6, wherein said actuator mechanism furtherincludes a force-releasable retainer device for retaining the fingerpiece, the channel member, and the slat coupled thereto, in any selectedposition.
 8. The shutter according to claim 7, wherein said releasableretainer device comprises a toothed curved surface fixed to said bellcrank lever at the pivotal mounting thereof so as to be rotated with thepivotal mounting of the bell crank lever, and a releasable springengageable with said toothed surface.
 9. The shutter according to claim8, wherein said releasable spring is a leaf spring held at its oppositeends by a pair of L-shaped shoulders integrally formed with the frameand having an intermediate section formed with a detent for releaseablyreceiving the teeth of the toothed surface.
 10. The shutter according toclaim 2, wherein said channel member includes a funnel-shaped element atits upper end to guide said slat end pins into the channel memberirrespective of the tilt position of the channel member.
 11. The shutteraccording to claim 1, wherein said slat assembly includes a plurality ofcurved coupling links at opposite ends of the slats coupling themtogether into a rollable assembly.
 12. The shutter according to claim 1,wherein said plurality of slats are each pivotally mounted eccentricallywith respect to the longitudinal axis of the slat.
 13. The shutteraccording to claim 12, wherein the pivotal end of each slat is partiallycovered by the non-pivotal end of the next adjacent slat in therolled-up condition of the slat assembly.
 14. The shutter according toclaim 1, wherein said slat assembly further includes a locking mechanismselectively movable to a locking position for locking the tiltingmechanism against tilting said slats, or to a releasing position forreleasing the tilting mechanism for tilting said slats.
 15. The shutteraccording to claim 1, wherein; said common actuator includes a verticalbar extending vertically at one side of said frame and coupled to theslats aligned with said window; and said tilting assembly furtherincludes a coupling mechanism for each slat coupling the slat to thevertical bar, and an actuator mechanism for moving said bar verticallyin one direction to pivot the coupled slats towards their openpositions, and in the opposite direction to pivot the coupled slatstowards their fully-closed positions.
 16. The shutter according to claim15, wherein said coupling mechanism for each slat couples the respectiveslat to the vertical bar such that raising the slat assemblyautomatically closes all the slats, and lowering the slat assemblyautomatically opens the slats aligned with the window.
 17. The shutteraccording to claim 15, wherein said coupling mechanism for each slatincludes teeth formed on said vertical bar engagable with teeth carriedby each of said slats.
 18. The shutter according to claim 17, whereinsaid teeth carried by each of said slats are in a sector gear formed inan actuator disc fixed to each slat.
 19. The shutter according to claim18, wherein each actuator disc is further formed with a cavity of sectorconfiguration, each actuator disc further including a pair of pawlspivotally mounted in said cavity and a spring urged to engage the sidesof said cavity and to straddle said sector gear of the respectiveactuator disc, such that: if the slat is initially closed, lowering theslat assembly opens the respective slat, and raising the slat assemblyretains the slat closed; and if the slat is initially open or partiallyopen, lowering the slat assembly fully opens the slat, and raising theslat assembly closes the slat.
 20. The shutter according to claim 15,wherein said actuator mechanism includes a rotary knob and gearingcoupling said knob to said vertical bar such that rotating the knob inone direction about its rotary axis raises the vertical bar, androtating the knob in the opposite direction about its rotary axis lowersthe vertical bar.
 21. The shutter according to claim 20, wherein saidrotary knob is also movable linearly along its rotary axis and iscoupled to a locking mechanism acting on said tilting mechanism, suchthat moving the knob linearly in one direction causes said lockingmechanism to release the tilting mechanism for tilting the slats, andmoving the knob linearly in the opposite direction releases said lockingmechanism to permit said tilting mechanism to tilt the slats.
 22. Aroll-up shutter, comprising: a frame defining a window; a rotary drummounted horizontally at the upper end of the frame above said window;and a slat assembly including a plurality of interconnected pivotalslats, said slat assembly being rollable on the drum from a rolled-upcondition above said window to a rolled-down condition covering saidwindow; wherein each of said plurality of slats being pivotally mountedeccentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the slat, whereinsaid shutter further comprises a tilting assembly for selectivelytilting said slats to an open, partially closed, or fully-closedposition when the slat assembly covers at least a part of said window,and wherein said tilting assembly includes a common actuator extendingthe length of said window and terminating below said drum, said commonactuator being coupled only to the slats aligned with the window in thefully rolled-down condition or partially rolled-down condition of theslat assembly for selectively tilting said coupled slats to an open,partially closed, or fully closed position.
 23. The shutter according toclaim 22, wherein said tilting assembly includes: a channel memberextending vertically at one side of said frame, said channel memberbeing open at its upper end and along one side for receiving a pin atthe end of each of said slats; and an actuator mechanism for moving saidchannel member and the slat pins received therein to pivot the slats totheir open, partially-closed, and fully-closed positions; the upper endof the channel member being located below said rotatable drum such thatwhen rolling-up the slat assembly onto the drum, the slat end pins leavesaid channel member thereby permitting the slats to pivot to theirfully-closed positions.